Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
The maintenance of wind turbine components is critical to the ongoing operation of a wind turbine. Thus, maintenance operations, such as inspections, are routinely performed on wind turbine components to ensure that they are in optimal operating condition. For example, visual inspections of the exterior of a rotor blade may be performed to identify cracks and other potential defects. Such inspections may be performed by on site technicians. For instance, an inspecting technician may record information associated with the inspection. The technician may then log the data into a configuration management system on an off-site computing device when the technician leaves the wind turbine site.
Such recordation techniques can cause inaccuracies in the recorded information. Further, such techniques can be time consuming and inefficient. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient, accurate, timely, and effective system for performing an inspection on wind turbine components.